Rudder has had water inside since before I bought it four years ago, drilling in the fall reveals rusty water , so I'm thinking of pulling it to work on over the winter. Anyone know what they are comprised of inside? Solid glass, foam core , solid blade , open grid welded ? Thanks for any insight, just curious before I perform surgery on it

I took my Niagara 35 rudder apart and I suspect the construction is similar. It is foam with carbon steel horizontal bars coming out from the stainless shaft. Why this did this to save $4 or something is beyond me. I split the rudder shell along the edges with a hand saw and was able to take out the metal bit quite easily. Had the rusting bits replaced with stainless by a machine shop. Turned out to be an easier job than I expected. The problem is that the shaft and shell expand and contract at different rates which puts a great deal of stress on the sealant around the shaft. Of course it is not easy to inspect and replace this sealant since you need to drop the rudder, but a really good seal here is the key.

After the refit we have decided to sell Ainia. We want something smaller that would be could for the light summer winds of Lake Ontario, although we plan to spend at least a couple of winters in the Caribbean before heading north.

That would explain the rusty water !
I know the rudder post is stainless ,
And even though welds will corrode
I have too much dirty water , having steel rods /structure would account for that( makes you wonder how much they saved!) where they welded or just inserted to the stainless?

Pretty sure it's welded stainless. I drilled holes and injected foam and epoxy over the years, then sealing with epoxy. The 'dirty water' could be rust, could be old epoxy or foam that mixed with sea water and never cured or some combination. In winter I Re-drilled holes to allow water to drain over the winter and not freeze inside the rudder as the original leaks come from the top around the rudder post.

I even tried bagging the rudder all winter, drilling holes and attaching a shop vac to the holes for hours a day to get the water out. It was an uphill fight at the water returned each year.

CNCPHotoalbum.com has some info about the original rudder construction and these problems. Most surveyors will tell you that there is water in most rudders.

The fix (as mentioned before in this thread) is to take it home over the winter, split it open, clean out all the old foam and muck, inspect the stainless frame (& repair if needed), dry it out, fill the two halves with foam, 3M5200 around the rudder post to seal, glass the two halves back together and you are good for another 40 years.

You can order a new rudder for about $5K.

Or you could just keep sailing as long as there is no delimitation as pretty much every old boat out there has water in the rudder.

Ya, fifty percent of my brain says "take it apart", the other half is saying "drill , drain , plug" and the 47 year old lack of general ambition writing this is thinking , drink bourbon in front of the fire this winter , and relax...
Oh the inner struggle....

Ya, fifty percent of my brain says "take it apart", the other half is saying "drill , drain , plug" and the 47 year old lack of general ambition writing this is thinking , drink bourbon in front of the fire this winter , and relax...
Oh the inner struggle....

Probably a good idea to:
Pull the engine and clean the inside of the oil pan.
Pull the holding tank and clean out the sludge
Buff out the oxidation on the inside of the mast
Trace and check every wire for chafe points

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